Sears' New Ad: No One Shops Here, So We Have Plenty of Parking!

Where Kmart tried to shock shoppers into its stores with this year's holiday ad campaign, its sister company Sears seems to have something else on its mind: the retail chain's increasingly ghost town-like atmosphere.

What's more, this Sears ad wasn't even the first time TV audiences were treated to an allusion to the ailing company's unoccupied retail locations this year. In an October episode of Family Guy, Lois and Peter wander into a Sears in search of clothes, only to find it's been transformed into a Mad Max-esque wasteland.

What do you think, readers? Is Sears offering up a little self-deprecating humor with its latest ad, or is the spot an actual cry for help? Give us your takeaway in the comments below!

Marcy pens consumer news stories of all sorts, in addition to adding pithy prose to many of the roundups you see every day. Her work for DealNews has appeared on sites like Lifehacker, the Huffington Post, and MSN Money. She is by far the most metal member of the DealNews staff, and you can see why by following her on Twitter @ThatBonebright.

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10 comments

tjmasters

Seems to me Sears could take a lesson from the American auto makers. When they started producing a good product at a fair price guess what happened? Can trust any of the old brands any more they are more interested in selling warranties then providing a good product. I'd like to shop there again, I really would.

Sears has been on a downward slide for a long time. And considering two recent headaches I have experienced with their customer service, its of little surprise. They always seem to have competitive prices, but God help you if you have a problem with your order/product. I think the fact that they're losing ground in the retail market is finally sinking in. As for me, I'll lose little sleep over a Sears collapse. Happy Holidays!!

I can find good deals at Sears sometimes. Always good for tools but Home Depot and Lowe's are giving them a run for their money in that department also. But honestly I think they have the most sterile, uninviting stores ever dreamed up. The clothes, furniture, bedding...all bland. I think the multilevel department store has run it's course. Walmarts are all one level which makes it easy to push a cart around. You can't take a cart up the escalator at Sears. The local Kmart looks like a swap meet. The floor was so dirty at Kmart I thought I was still in the parking lot. It was dark, musty, and junky.

Well it's no wonder! SEARS has always been ripping people off, but now thanks to the internet, people are more informed, people got more choices. People compare prices and understand that its cheaper to shop online than to let SEARS continue ripping customers off.

Further reason to question why so many "deals" from these two stores are listed on this site. So many Sears mentions include comparison "off list" like that is even relevant. I can always tell when incoming deals are slow when I see posts for these two stores getting in the list. Cmon, Dealnews, quality not quantity in your deals please.

I don't like going in Sears. I think that they put the nail in their coffin when they merged with Kmart, which is another store I will avoid at all costs. They do not feel like they belong in this century, yet they are way overpriced.